1 00:00:01,920 --> 00:00:05,720 Good morning everyone. Congratulations on making it in. 2 00:00:05,720 --> 00:00:12,400 And it's the snow of which I'm sure we are all tired, but also 3 00:00:12,640 --> 00:00:17,600 I've been monitoring the weather apps intensely and we're going 4 00:00:17,600 --> 00:00:20,360 to get a hot a heat wave next week. 5 00:00:20,680 --> 00:00:23,560 So excited about that. If we haven't met already, my 6 00:00:23,560 --> 00:00:25,800 name is Mandy. I'm on staff here at the Garden 7 00:00:25,800 --> 00:00:29,840 Church, and this morning I'm very excited to be kicking off 8 00:00:29,840 --> 00:00:34,040 our new sermon series on the Book of Hebrews, which is such a 9 00:00:34,040 --> 00:00:37,840 rich text, so I hope that you all will come to love it as much 10 00:00:37,840 --> 00:00:40,800 as I do. Hebrews is very complex, and 11 00:00:40,800 --> 00:00:44,400 it's very unique in the way that it presents ideas and makes 12 00:00:44,400 --> 00:00:48,480 theological arguments. And Hebrews is unapologetically 13 00:00:48,720 --> 00:00:53,600 and expressively Worshipful. The author, who is anonymous, is 14 00:00:53,600 --> 00:00:57,440 devoted to elevating the name of Jesus and kind of examining from 15 00:00:57,440 --> 00:01:02,400 every angle how magnificent he is and why he alone is worthy of 16 00:01:02,400 --> 00:01:05,319 our worship. However, if you have been 17 00:01:05,319 --> 00:01:07,640 following along with our Lent guide and reading through 18 00:01:07,640 --> 00:01:10,760 Hebrews this week, you might already feel a little bit dazed 19 00:01:10,760 --> 00:01:13,520 and confused. That's perfectly normal. 20 00:01:13,520 --> 00:01:16,240 I just want to validate you if you've been reading it, because 21 00:01:16,240 --> 00:01:19,480 Hebrews is often named as one of the most challenging books in 22 00:01:19,480 --> 00:01:21,840 the New Testament to read and to interpret. 23 00:01:22,320 --> 00:01:24,040 And I kind of feel like it should come with a warning 24 00:01:24,040 --> 00:01:26,120 label. You know, like warning may cause 25 00:01:26,120 --> 00:01:29,040 dizziness and disorientation due to a high volume of New 26 00:01:29,040 --> 00:01:31,840 Testament quotations. I'm kind of serious though, 27 00:01:31,840 --> 00:01:34,760 because for example, Hebrews chapter 1 and 2, which is what 28 00:01:34,760 --> 00:01:38,520 I'm covering today, actually contains 11 different passages 29 00:01:38,520 --> 00:01:42,240 from the Old Testament spanning from Psalms to Deuteronomy to 30 00:01:42,280 --> 00:01:44,000 Isaiah. So it's kind of intense. 31 00:01:44,720 --> 00:01:47,720 But here's a great example of why this can prove tricky for us 32 00:01:47,920 --> 00:01:51,120 as modern day readers. If you look at your passages, 33 00:01:51,120 --> 00:01:55,040 you'll notice that there is a an excerpt from the beginning of 34 00:01:55,040 --> 00:01:57,760 Hebrews chapter 1 and an excerpt from the end of chapters 2. 35 00:01:57,760 --> 00:01:59,600 So what about all the missing verses in between? 36 00:01:59,960 --> 00:02:03,680 Well, I can summarize them for you in just one sentence. 37 00:02:04,560 --> 00:02:07,120 Jesus is greater than the angels. 38 00:02:07,920 --> 00:02:08,840 Cool. Sermon over. 39 00:02:09,120 --> 00:02:11,840 No, just kidding. But basically the author has a 40 00:02:11,840 --> 00:02:15,680 ton of passages that he lists from the Old Testament that are 41 00:02:15,680 --> 00:02:18,200 about angels and about Jesus relationship and how he's 42 00:02:18,200 --> 00:02:21,360 greater than the angels. And when I read this, I'm kind 43 00:02:21,360 --> 00:02:25,960 of like, well, I agree. Like not saying that I disagree, 44 00:02:25,960 --> 00:02:27,720 but also like, why does that matter? 45 00:02:28,400 --> 00:02:31,080 And that is the question that we'll be looking to answer today 46 00:02:31,080 --> 00:02:33,760 because throughout the book of Hebrews, the author basically 47 00:02:33,760 --> 00:02:37,600 argues that Jesus is greater than the angels and the prophets 48 00:02:37,640 --> 00:02:39,640 and Moses and Joshua and the priesthood. 49 00:02:40,000 --> 00:02:43,840 And we might read these things and be like, yes, Amen. 50 00:02:44,000 --> 00:02:47,440 We are on board, but maybe none of them feel particularly 51 00:02:47,440 --> 00:02:50,880 significant to us. So it's easy to say that Jesus 52 00:02:50,880 --> 00:02:53,880 is greater. But for the original readers of 53 00:02:53,880 --> 00:02:56,640 the book of Hebrews, these things represented their 54 00:02:56,640 --> 00:03:01,000 culture, their history, their hope, their understanding of 55 00:03:01,000 --> 00:03:03,240 God. And so when those things are 56 00:03:03,240 --> 00:03:05,640 challenged, we tend to get really uncomfortable. 57 00:03:06,400 --> 00:03:09,360 So this is the conversation that we're invited into today. 58 00:03:09,360 --> 00:03:12,320 It's not just about angels or prophets or the law. 59 00:03:12,520 --> 00:03:16,680 It's about how we view God, how we relate to Him, and whether 60 00:03:16,800 --> 00:03:19,680 we're holding anything else in our lives above Him. 61 00:03:19,680 --> 00:03:22,960 And that's why Hebrews can still speak to us today, because it is 62 00:03:22,960 --> 00:03:26,480 a revelation of the God who loves us and who is inviting us 63 00:03:26,480 --> 00:03:30,560 to trust in his salvation. So as you get started, let me 64 00:03:30,560 --> 00:03:34,320 just pray for us now that God would help us to receive his 65 00:03:34,320 --> 00:03:39,360 love and step into that trust. Lord Jesus, we thank you for the 66 00:03:39,360 --> 00:03:43,520 gift of Your Word, and we thank you for bringing us together 67 00:03:43,520 --> 00:03:46,680 here this morning. God, we want to learn from you. 68 00:03:48,280 --> 00:03:50,960 We ask that whatever else is going on in our lives, whatever 69 00:03:50,960 --> 00:03:54,520 else is maybe occupying our thoughts, that you would help us 70 00:03:54,960 --> 00:03:57,280 to just lay those things at your feet. 71 00:03:57,280 --> 00:03:59,760 God, we want to receive from you this morning. 72 00:03:59,760 --> 00:04:05,040 We want to draw nearer to You. We want to set aside anything 73 00:04:05,040 --> 00:04:07,480 that might be an obstacle between US and You so that we 74 00:04:07,480 --> 00:04:11,760 can just be fully in your presence, God, fully in the 75 00:04:11,760 --> 00:04:15,680 presence of your love, fully trusting in your power, fully 76 00:04:15,680 --> 00:04:20,680 trusting in your ability to save us, to offer us everything that 77 00:04:20,680 --> 00:04:21,519 we need. God. 78 00:04:21,519 --> 00:04:23,960 So we just want to come before you this morning and ask that 79 00:04:23,960 --> 00:04:26,520 you would speak. Holy Spirit, we thank you for 80 00:04:26,520 --> 00:04:30,160 being near to us. We thank you that you do speak. 81 00:04:30,720 --> 00:04:33,600 We thank you for your grace. Open our hearts and ears this 82 00:04:33,600 --> 00:04:37,960 morning in Jesus name, Amen. All right, so again, as we get 83 00:04:37,960 --> 00:04:41,200 started, let's return to our big question, kind of the favorite 84 00:04:41,200 --> 00:04:43,880 question of every three-year old, you know, which is why, why 85 00:04:43,880 --> 00:04:46,240 did the author write the book of Hebrews? 86 00:04:46,480 --> 00:04:49,160 Why do these topics matter so much that he was willing to 87 00:04:49,160 --> 00:04:53,000 invest time and energy and ink and papyrus to write out these 88 00:04:53,000 --> 00:04:55,720 arguments? And there's kind of a question 89 00:04:55,720 --> 00:04:58,720 behind that question, which is who, Like who was this book 90 00:04:58,920 --> 00:05:02,040 written for and what were the challenges that were facing 91 00:05:02,040 --> 00:05:04,920 them? Well, the title of the book is 92 00:05:05,000 --> 00:05:08,000 Hebrews for a reason. The first readers were Hebrews. 93 00:05:08,000 --> 00:05:11,360 They were Jews, and their lives were shaped by the Torah, by the 94 00:05:11,360 --> 00:05:13,240 law of God. And so, you know, they grew up 95 00:05:13,240 --> 00:05:15,400 being taught the texts of the Old Testament. 96 00:05:16,240 --> 00:05:19,560 So these Hebrews, as I'll refer to them, we're also second 97 00:05:19,560 --> 00:05:22,600 generation Christians, meaning they were not alive when Jesus 98 00:05:22,600 --> 00:05:24,520 walked the earth. Instead, they learned about 99 00:05:24,520 --> 00:05:27,760 Christianity kind of second hand from the testimonies of 100 00:05:27,760 --> 00:05:30,760 eyewitnesses or, you know, from the stories and teachings that 101 00:05:30,760 --> 00:05:32,480 would one day become the New Testament. 102 00:05:33,000 --> 00:05:35,040 So in that way, we might have something in common with them. 103 00:05:35,040 --> 00:05:38,520 They chose to believe in the gospel of Jesus, not by sight, 104 00:05:38,680 --> 00:05:42,680 but by faith. So these Hebrews also faced 105 00:05:42,680 --> 00:05:45,560 persecution in their time, mostly in the form of what you 106 00:05:45,560 --> 00:05:49,480 might call social dishonor. So they were like, ostracized by 107 00:05:49,480 --> 00:05:52,600 society because of their faith. They suffered verbal abuse, 108 00:05:52,600 --> 00:05:55,040 maybe even loss of property or income. 109 00:05:55,320 --> 00:05:58,080 They were marginalized. And over time, this seems to 110 00:05:58,080 --> 00:06:00,000 have, like, worn down their stamina. 111 00:06:00,360 --> 00:06:03,200 So many of these Hebrew Christians were struggling in 112 00:06:03,200 --> 00:06:05,640 their faith. They had maybe stopped attending 113 00:06:05,800 --> 00:06:08,160 church gatherings. They were compromising on their 114 00:06:08,160 --> 00:06:10,360 beliefs. They were tempted to return to 115 00:06:10,360 --> 00:06:13,080 their Jewish roots because Judaism was more accepted, so 116 00:06:13,080 --> 00:06:15,080 it'd be easier. So they were tempted to kind of 117 00:06:15,080 --> 00:06:19,080 water down the gospel of Jesus. So maybe they weren't, you know, 118 00:06:19,200 --> 00:06:22,560 dramatically rejecting Jesus and who he is, But they were kind of 119 00:06:22,560 --> 00:06:26,440 slowly drifting away and, like, caving in to social pressures. 120 00:06:27,240 --> 00:06:30,560 So This is why the letter to the Hebrews was written, to 121 00:06:30,560 --> 00:06:34,440 encourage a community of weary Christians who are struggling in 122 00:06:34,440 --> 00:06:37,640 their faith in Jesus. So what does the author want to 123 00:06:37,640 --> 00:06:41,080 say to them? His core message, again, could 124 00:06:41,080 --> 00:06:43,520 be summarized in a single phrase. 125 00:06:44,200 --> 00:06:48,440 Jesus is greater. 13 times throughout the book, the author 126 00:06:48,440 --> 00:06:50,880 uses the Greek word for greater or better. 127 00:06:51,240 --> 00:06:54,320 Jesus is like lifted up as the fulfillment of everything that 128 00:06:54,320 --> 00:06:56,760 the Old Testament writes about, everything that God's people 129 00:06:56,760 --> 00:06:59,400 have been waiting for. So the author is like exhorting 130 00:06:59,400 --> 00:07:02,680 his listeners, hold fast to your faith in Jesus, no matter the 131 00:07:02,680 --> 00:07:06,520 challenges facing you because Jesus is greater and there's no 132 00:07:06,520 --> 00:07:09,840 other savior but him. So today, as we explore chapter 133 00:07:09,840 --> 00:07:12,600 1 and two of the book of Hebrews, there's kind of three 134 00:07:12,600 --> 00:07:14,360 main ideas that I want us to focus on. 135 00:07:14,360 --> 00:07:17,120 And because this book is all about the greatness of Jesus, 136 00:07:17,440 --> 00:07:19,840 all three are essentially invitations to worship. 137 00:07:20,200 --> 00:07:23,040 Because that's what Hebrews is about, elevating the name of 138 00:07:23,120 --> 00:07:26,600 Jesus above everything and everyone in our lives. 139 00:07:27,120 --> 00:07:29,280 So here are the three invitations I have to offer you 140 00:07:29,280 --> 00:07:35,960 today #1 worship Jesus as he is number 2. 141 00:07:36,440 --> 00:07:39,800 Let Jesus lead the way. I was actually really tempted to 142 00:07:39,800 --> 00:07:42,600 make that one, let Jesus take the wheel, but it was too corny. 143 00:07:42,600 --> 00:07:45,160 I couldn't do it. So it's let Jesus lead the way. 144 00:07:46,120 --> 00:07:51,800 So close and #3 leave your fears nailed to the cross. 145 00:07:53,080 --> 00:07:59,040 So #1 worship Jesus as he is. So I mentioned that most of the 146 00:07:59,040 --> 00:08:02,040 verses throughout Hebrews chapter 1 and 2 are Old 147 00:08:02,040 --> 00:08:04,920 Testament quotes and they're either about angels or they're 148 00:08:04,920 --> 00:08:07,680 about Jesus kingship and kind of the relationship between the 149 00:08:07,680 --> 00:08:11,560 two. So angels seem cool enough, 150 00:08:11,840 --> 00:08:14,080 right? Like they play like key roles at 151 00:08:14,080 --> 00:08:15,800 major moments in biblical history. 152 00:08:16,240 --> 00:08:19,000 But if I were writing like a theological letter to encourage 153 00:08:19,160 --> 00:08:22,280 my fellow Christians in their faith, I would probably mention 154 00:08:22,440 --> 00:08:26,840 angels about 0 times. Like, it's not a core part of 155 00:08:26,840 --> 00:08:28,680 how I think about the world. It's not something I was raised 156 00:08:28,680 --> 00:08:30,600 with. So it is kind of perplexing for 157 00:08:30,600 --> 00:08:33,720 me that the author of Hebrews just like dedicates so much air 158 00:08:33,720 --> 00:08:35,679 time to them. So what is going on here? 159 00:08:35,679 --> 00:08:39,600 Why does it seem important? Well, in the era between the Old 160 00:08:39,600 --> 00:08:43,000 Testament and the New Testament, Jewish theologians had given 161 00:08:43,000 --> 00:08:45,320 increasingly important roles to angels. 162 00:08:45,600 --> 00:08:49,040 One Bible scholar says that angels were regarded as the ones 163 00:08:49,040 --> 00:08:51,600 through whom God gave the law and knowledge. 164 00:08:52,480 --> 00:08:54,960 They thought that they served as mediators between humanity and 165 00:08:54,960 --> 00:08:56,640 God since they stand in his presence. 166 00:08:56,960 --> 00:08:59,360 And some even held that angels governed the world. 167 00:09:00,080 --> 00:09:03,520 So this time, angels were given like this very elevated position 168 00:09:03,520 --> 00:09:05,680 in the eyes of many. And that's not all. 169 00:09:05,680 --> 00:09:09,720 Jewish Christians are also criticized and misunderstood by 170 00:09:09,720 --> 00:09:11,360 kind of the larger Jewish community. 171 00:09:11,360 --> 00:09:14,560 They were seen as heretics, like, dangerously misguided and 172 00:09:14,560 --> 00:09:16,760 disloyal to the teachings of the Old Testament. 173 00:09:17,320 --> 00:09:19,960 And they were often accused of worshipping a second God. 174 00:09:19,960 --> 00:09:22,280 So that's like, you know, a misunderstanding of who Jesus 175 00:09:22,280 --> 00:09:23,360 is. They saw him as, oh, you're 176 00:09:23,560 --> 00:09:26,840 worshipping a second God. And so this was kind of part of 177 00:09:26,840 --> 00:09:29,960 the social pressure that they faced from their own family and 178 00:09:29,960 --> 00:09:33,600 friends and neighbors. And so one compromise that some 179 00:09:33,600 --> 00:09:36,640 Christians had made was to say that Jesus was merely a great 180 00:09:36,640 --> 00:09:38,560 Angel. You know, it seems to solve the 181 00:09:38,560 --> 00:09:41,440 problem if someone is accusing you of Poly polytheism. 182 00:09:41,440 --> 00:09:44,280 Like Jesus still gets to be a powerful divine being, but he's 183 00:09:44,280 --> 00:09:46,360 no longer God himself. And you don't have to explain 184 00:09:46,360 --> 00:09:49,240 the Trinity or like wrestle with how it's possible for Jesus to 185 00:09:49,240 --> 00:09:50,840 be like fully God and fully human. 186 00:09:51,040 --> 00:09:52,120 Like, you're just kind of done, right. 187 00:09:53,360 --> 00:09:56,760 So as we hear this, like, maybe it feels relatable to you. 188 00:09:57,080 --> 00:09:59,320 Maybe it doesn't, might depend on how you feel about angels, 189 00:09:59,320 --> 00:10:01,800 right? But here is the heart of the 190 00:10:01,800 --> 00:10:03,400 problem. And this might be something that 191 00:10:03,400 --> 00:10:07,360 we can relate to. The Hebrews were tempted to 192 00:10:07,360 --> 00:10:10,680 reshape God's identity into something that made their lives 193 00:10:10,800 --> 00:10:13,240 easier. Going to say it again. 194 00:10:15,280 --> 00:10:18,680 The Hebrews, So the first readers of the book of Hebrews 195 00:10:19,200 --> 00:10:23,000 were tempted to reshape God's identity into something that 196 00:10:23,000 --> 00:10:28,640 made their lives easier. That is a real temptation for us 197 00:10:28,640 --> 00:10:32,320 as humans to try to like, edit God's nature so we don't have to 198 00:10:32,320 --> 00:10:35,360 be challenged by it. For instance, you know, we may 199 00:10:35,360 --> 00:10:38,880 like God's mercy, but we're uncomfortable with his anger at 200 00:10:38,880 --> 00:10:41,080 sin. We may approve of his 201 00:10:41,080 --> 00:10:44,720 righteousness, but we don't like it that he dispenses grace so 202 00:10:44,720 --> 00:10:47,400 freely. We like that he offers to help 203 00:10:47,400 --> 00:10:50,640 us in our time of need, but we don't like that he calls us to 204 00:10:50,640 --> 00:10:54,080 die to ourselves, to leave our old life behind, to take up our 205 00:10:54,080 --> 00:10:57,360 cross and follow him. And the parts that we're 206 00:10:57,360 --> 00:11:00,560 uncomfortable with might vary depending on our personality or 207 00:11:00,560 --> 00:11:04,400 our culture and our background. But more likely than not, we do 208 00:11:04,400 --> 00:11:06,120 have this in common with the Hebrews. 209 00:11:06,320 --> 00:11:10,320 We struggle to let God be God without trying to change him. 210 00:11:10,320 --> 00:11:14,000 I remember when I was in seminary, the first theology 211 00:11:14,000 --> 00:11:17,240 class that I took, we did three weeks in a row just on the 212 00:11:17,240 --> 00:11:19,840 doctrine of the Trinity. Like the idea that there is like 213 00:11:19,840 --> 00:11:23,360 one God who exists eternally as 3 distinct persons, Father, Son, 214 00:11:23,360 --> 00:11:25,800 Holy Spirit. And I'll be honest, when I read 215 00:11:25,800 --> 00:11:29,120 the syllabus I was like 3 books in three weeks. 216 00:11:29,120 --> 00:11:33,360 Kind of seems like overkill to me, but looking back I have a 217 00:11:33,360 --> 00:11:36,040 deeper appreciation for it. Not because I necessarily 218 00:11:36,040 --> 00:11:38,440 understand the Trinity better, maybe I do, maybe I don't. 219 00:11:39,120 --> 00:11:41,720 But one of my big takeaways was this. 220 00:11:43,200 --> 00:11:46,040 We don't get to decide who God is. 221 00:11:47,280 --> 00:11:50,800 We don't get to decide who God is. 222 00:11:51,440 --> 00:11:54,600 God's identity, his threeness, his oneness, His other 223 00:11:54,600 --> 00:11:57,840 attributes are not under our jurisdiction. 224 00:11:58,600 --> 00:12:03,080 And if our view of God is shaped by our preferences or like our, 225 00:12:03,280 --> 00:12:06,000 you know what's easier for us to kind of hold their handle? 226 00:12:06,400 --> 00:12:08,000 But that's not God that we're looking at. 227 00:12:08,240 --> 00:12:10,800 That's an idol. Because any God that we can 228 00:12:10,800 --> 00:12:14,720 control is not real. It's merely a false God of our 229 00:12:14,720 --> 00:12:18,800 own making. We don't get to decide who God 230 00:12:18,800 --> 00:12:21,960 is. We do get to learn who God is. 231 00:12:22,880 --> 00:12:26,120 And by his grace, God chooses to reveal himself, to make himself 232 00:12:26,120 --> 00:12:29,560 known to us, but we don't get to, like select which parts of 233 00:12:29,560 --> 00:12:32,000 him we like or prefer the ones that don't disrupt our 234 00:12:32,000 --> 00:12:34,920 lifestyle. So on one level, we might 235 00:12:34,920 --> 00:12:38,000 sympathize with the readers of Hebrews because, you know, 236 00:12:38,400 --> 00:12:41,800 claiming that Jesus is God introduced like, all sorts of 237 00:12:41,800 --> 00:12:45,480 complications into their lives. Like it felt hard to explain. 238 00:12:45,680 --> 00:12:48,320 It challenged them to fully surrender their old ways of 239 00:12:48,320 --> 00:12:51,920 thinking and to embrace like this new revelation of God that 240 00:12:51,920 --> 00:12:53,560 was kind of full of mystery and scandal. 241 00:12:53,560 --> 00:12:58,800 That's how Jesus was often held. And I mean, the idea that Jesus 242 00:12:58,800 --> 00:13:01,960 is fully God and fully human is mind boggling, right? 243 00:13:01,960 --> 00:13:05,240 Like that Jesus is somehow like the creator of the known 244 00:13:05,240 --> 00:13:09,600 universe, and yet he also took on flesh and walked among us. 245 00:13:09,920 --> 00:13:13,480 That Jesus holds the word world together by the power of his 246 00:13:13,480 --> 00:13:15,720 word. And yet simultaneously he like, 247 00:13:15,720 --> 00:13:18,320 sat with people and spoke to people and like, showed up at 248 00:13:18,320 --> 00:13:20,840 dinner parties. Like if thinking about those two 249 00:13:20,840 --> 00:13:23,920 things together makes your head hurt, I have good news. 250 00:13:24,640 --> 00:13:25,960 That is how it's supposed to feel. 251 00:13:27,320 --> 00:13:30,760 God is bigger than us. God is not supposed to be fully 252 00:13:30,760 --> 00:13:32,720 comprehensible by our human brains. 253 00:13:32,720 --> 00:13:35,520 His complexity does not bend to our whims. 254 00:13:35,680 --> 00:13:38,480 He we don't get to simplify him when there are parts of him that 255 00:13:38,480 --> 00:13:42,040 we don't understand. He's greater than us, and that 256 00:13:42,040 --> 00:13:47,200 is a wonderful thing. So the Hebrews were struggling 257 00:13:47,200 --> 00:13:50,560 with this pressure to make God more acceptable to their 258 00:13:50,560 --> 00:13:53,960 critics, easier to handle. How might we face a similar 259 00:13:53,960 --> 00:13:57,240 struggle today? Like when have we been tempted 260 00:13:57,240 --> 00:14:01,640 to edit God's identity? Maybe we're scientists and we 261 00:14:01,640 --> 00:14:03,920 feel the pressure to change God's miraculous nature. 262 00:14:03,920 --> 00:14:06,120 Like we want to kind of make it more predictable and more 263 00:14:06,120 --> 00:14:09,000 logical. Maybe we're capitalists and 264 00:14:09,000 --> 00:14:12,080 we're tempted to downplay Jesus teachings on greed and 265 00:14:12,080 --> 00:14:14,520 generosity. We live in a pluralistic 266 00:14:14,520 --> 00:14:16,080 society, right? Like many different beliefs, 267 00:14:16,080 --> 00:14:18,520 maybe we are. We feel a pressure to say that 268 00:14:18,520 --> 00:14:21,600 Jesus isn't the only way, the truth and the life. 269 00:14:22,480 --> 00:14:24,880 We might feel uncomfortable with a myriad of things like Jesus 270 00:14:24,880 --> 00:14:28,600 emphasis on grace, his sexual ethics, his teachings on the end 271 00:14:28,600 --> 00:14:30,960 times. And so we might want to kind of 272 00:14:30,960 --> 00:14:33,240 try to reshape those things to make others feel more 273 00:14:33,240 --> 00:14:35,840 comfortable or to make ourselves feel more comfortable. 274 00:14:36,680 --> 00:14:39,960 But essentially we would. We replace the real and living 275 00:14:39,960 --> 00:14:42,720 God with a dead and useless idol. 276 00:14:43,400 --> 00:14:46,480 We lose the goodness and the wonder of worshipping a God who 277 00:14:46,480 --> 00:14:48,840 exceeds the boundaries of our imaginations. 278 00:14:50,440 --> 00:14:52,320 If any part of this is convicting to you, I know it's 279 00:14:52,800 --> 00:14:54,720 been convicting to me as I've thought about it. 280 00:14:55,160 --> 00:14:57,600 Here's our invitation again. It's simple. 281 00:14:58,800 --> 00:15:02,720 Worship Jesus as he is. That is what the author of 282 00:15:02,720 --> 00:15:06,200 Hebrews is calling us to. Remember who it is that you 283 00:15:06,200 --> 00:15:08,600 believe in. Like turn back to Jesus and 284 00:15:08,600 --> 00:15:11,880 proclaim his glory. Just listen to how the author 285 00:15:11,880 --> 00:15:13,680 describes Jesus. This is like his goal, right? 286 00:15:13,680 --> 00:15:15,640 To like get us to worship Jesus as it as it is. 287 00:15:15,640 --> 00:15:18,680 So I'm going to say some of the things that he talks about here 288 00:15:18,680 --> 00:15:20,680 that kind of illustrate the greatness of Jesus, right? 289 00:15:21,120 --> 00:15:25,880 So first, Jesus is the creator of all things. 290 00:15:26,440 --> 00:15:31,480 So everything belongs to him. Jesus is the radiance of the 291 00:15:31,480 --> 00:15:35,000 glory of God. It's like the beauty of God's 292 00:15:35,000 --> 00:15:40,680 character shines through him. Jesus is the exact imprint of 293 00:15:40,680 --> 00:15:44,640 God's nature, so when we look at the life of Jesus, we see the 294 00:15:44,640 --> 00:15:49,000 heart of the Father. Jesus upholds the universe by 295 00:15:49,000 --> 00:15:52,760 the word of his power, so no matter the chaos that surrounds 296 00:15:52,760 --> 00:15:55,040 us, He is the one who sustains us. 297 00:15:56,160 --> 00:15:59,920 Jesus made purification for our sins, so there's nothing we have 298 00:15:59,920 --> 00:16:03,360 done that cannot be forgiven. And Jesus has been crowned with 299 00:16:03,360 --> 00:16:06,920 glory and honor, and his throne will last forever and ever. 300 00:16:07,120 --> 00:16:10,320 So when he promises us a place in his Kingdom, in a new and a 301 00:16:10,320 --> 00:16:12,960 better world, we can trust in His word. 302 00:16:13,960 --> 00:16:16,120 Like when I just read these truths, these are the truths 303 00:16:16,120 --> 00:16:17,920 that the book of Hebrews is full of. 304 00:16:18,040 --> 00:16:21,120 It like stirs up something in my heart, like this awe and this 305 00:16:21,120 --> 00:16:24,840 wonder at who Jesus is, this gratitude that this God, this 306 00:16:24,840 --> 00:16:29,440 King would give his life for us. Can an Angel do that? 307 00:16:30,080 --> 00:16:31,800 Can an idol do that? No. 308 00:16:32,200 --> 00:16:35,480 Like who can possibly compare with the glory of Christ? 309 00:16:35,680 --> 00:16:38,160 When we look at Jesus and His fullness, we see that He is 310 00:16:38,160 --> 00:16:41,280 perfect as He is. Like nothing needs to be added, 311 00:16:41,400 --> 00:16:44,000 nothing can be subtracted. He is everything we need. 312 00:16:44,320 --> 00:16:48,440 And yes, His trinitarian and like human slash divine way of 313 00:16:48,440 --> 00:16:51,560 being is beyond our understanding, but that is part 314 00:16:51,560 --> 00:16:54,840 of what makes Him glorious and worthy of worship. 315 00:16:55,920 --> 00:17:01,360 So we must resist the temptation to reshape God's identity into a 316 00:17:01,360 --> 00:17:04,880 form that feels more convenient to us, because there's nothing 317 00:17:04,880 --> 00:17:07,119 better than meeting the real Jesus and experiencing his 318 00:17:07,119 --> 00:17:10,200 glory. Open your heart to actually 319 00:17:10,200 --> 00:17:11,839 encountering him. That's my invitation to you 320 00:17:11,839 --> 00:17:14,000 today. Let yourself be challenged by 321 00:17:14,000 --> 00:17:16,760 who God is. Let your own character be shaped 322 00:17:16,760 --> 00:17:24,480 by his worship Jesus as he is. So our second invitation is to 323 00:17:24,480 --> 00:17:28,079 let Jesus lead the way. So the book of Hebrews also 324 00:17:28,079 --> 00:17:31,120 tells us that Jesus is greater than the law and the prophets. 325 00:17:31,560 --> 00:17:34,840 And in chapter 1 it says long ago, at many times and in many 326 00:17:34,840 --> 00:17:38,640 ways, God spoke to our Father by the prophets, but in these last 327 00:17:38,640 --> 00:17:40,960 days he has spoken to us by his Son. 328 00:17:41,880 --> 00:17:45,440 So, you know, the law and the prophets were a gift from God to 329 00:17:45,440 --> 00:17:47,920 guide his people. But the author is saying 330 00:17:47,920 --> 00:17:51,680 something greater has come, a greater message of good news, a 331 00:17:51,680 --> 00:17:55,800 greater Savior has come. And so once again, we find that 332 00:17:55,800 --> 00:17:58,480 the Hebrews were facing a challenge that we may or may not 333 00:17:58,600 --> 00:18:01,920 relate to, which is kind of this temptation to hold the law and 334 00:18:01,920 --> 00:18:04,040 the prophets as higher than Jesus. 335 00:18:04,560 --> 00:18:06,760 And those two things are basically like shorthand for 336 00:18:06,760 --> 00:18:08,360 what we would call the Old Testament, like all the 337 00:18:08,360 --> 00:18:10,800 revelation and the law that God provided his people. 338 00:18:11,040 --> 00:18:12,960 But for Jews, this was the source of life. 339 00:18:13,320 --> 00:18:16,080 Like it taught them how to live, how to align themselves with 340 00:18:16,080 --> 00:18:19,240 God's will, how to receive atonement for sins, and how to 341 00:18:19,240 --> 00:18:23,520 maintain hope in God's promises. The law was a good thing. 342 00:18:24,040 --> 00:18:27,440 It was a gift. But here's the problem with 343 00:18:27,440 --> 00:18:31,960 humanity. We are really talented at taking 344 00:18:31,960 --> 00:18:35,040 a good thing and turning it into an idol. 345 00:18:35,960 --> 00:18:39,000 And an idol, remember, is anything that replaces God in 346 00:18:39,000 --> 00:18:41,080 our hearts, like anything that we try to derive, like our 347 00:18:41,080 --> 00:18:43,120 ultimate sense of identity and purpose from. 348 00:18:43,800 --> 00:18:47,120 So an idol may start out as a good thing, but then we kind of 349 00:18:47,120 --> 00:18:49,160 fixate on it. Like we, we elevate it. 350 00:18:49,160 --> 00:18:51,440 We, we reorganize our lives around it. 351 00:18:51,440 --> 00:18:54,400 We try to squeeze every ounce of satisfaction we can get from it. 352 00:18:54,400 --> 00:18:57,040 We convinced ourselves that we need it to survive. 353 00:18:57,680 --> 00:19:00,440 There's this quote that's attributed to John Calvin. 354 00:19:00,440 --> 00:19:04,160 It says the human heart is a perpetual idol factory. 355 00:19:05,480 --> 00:19:08,600 But why? Like, why are we so addicted to 356 00:19:08,600 --> 00:19:09,960 idols? Why do we keep trying to replace 357 00:19:09,960 --> 00:19:12,160 God with something else? Well, there are probably 358 00:19:12,160 --> 00:19:13,600 countless ways to answer that question. 359 00:19:13,800 --> 00:19:17,920 I only get one sermon today, but one one element that stood out 360 00:19:17,920 --> 00:19:20,920 to me, reading the book of Hebrews particularly, is our 361 00:19:20,920 --> 00:19:25,600 desire for control. Like idols, by their nature, are 362 00:19:25,600 --> 00:19:27,720 things that we at least feel like we can control. 363 00:19:28,520 --> 00:19:32,800 God decidedly is not. So when I think about it this 364 00:19:32,800 --> 00:19:35,520 way, and then I can kind of start to understand why the 365 00:19:35,520 --> 00:19:38,440 Hebrews might have been hesitant to give up their reliance on the 366 00:19:38,440 --> 00:19:40,520 law. It feels predictable. 367 00:19:40,600 --> 00:19:43,280 It feels reliable if you have this guide book that tells you 368 00:19:43,280 --> 00:19:45,520 like, how to act and you can just do what it says and things 369 00:19:45,520 --> 00:19:49,440 will turn out well for you. But if the human heart can turn 370 00:19:49,520 --> 00:19:53,720 anything into an idol, and it can, that includes the law of 371 00:19:53,720 --> 00:19:56,120 God. And if you're wondering what it 372 00:19:56,120 --> 00:19:59,640 would look like to worship God's law more than God himself? 373 00:20:00,240 --> 00:20:02,440 We have access to like a really vivid example. 374 00:20:02,760 --> 00:20:04,400 You might have met them. They were known as the 375 00:20:04,400 --> 00:20:06,520 Pharisees. They lived during the time of 376 00:20:06,560 --> 00:20:09,320 Jesus and they were among his biggest opponents. 377 00:20:09,320 --> 00:20:12,000 And the Pharisees likely started out like they're a group of 378 00:20:12,000 --> 00:20:14,960 religious leaders, right? So they wanted people to take 379 00:20:14,960 --> 00:20:17,240 the Bible seriously. Like they wanted to provide more 380 00:20:17,240 --> 00:20:19,800 clarity on how to apply scripture to our lives. 381 00:20:20,040 --> 00:20:23,480 So their approach was to like develop really detailed rules 382 00:20:23,480 --> 00:20:26,160 for people to follow. Like, and then those rules, we 383 00:20:26,160 --> 00:20:29,280 got more rules, which we got more rules and more rules until 384 00:20:29,280 --> 00:20:32,320 the people were like suffocated under the demands and all this 385 00:20:32,320 --> 00:20:36,360 like red tape. But on the surface, you know, 386 00:20:36,480 --> 00:20:38,760 they're concerned for the law looks like holiness. 387 00:20:39,520 --> 00:20:42,080 But underneath their true motivation was revealed. 388 00:20:42,080 --> 00:20:45,080 They were so desperate for control that they were unwilling 389 00:20:45,080 --> 00:20:47,560 to be challenged or corrected even when Jesus came along, even 390 00:20:47,560 --> 00:20:51,520 by God himself. So as I was thinking about this, 391 00:20:51,520 --> 00:20:55,160 like how how that might come out in our lives today, this 392 00:20:55,160 --> 00:20:58,840 metaphor came to mind for me of two different ways that you 393 00:20:58,840 --> 00:21:04,440 could approach hiking. So I'm not much of A hiker, but 394 00:21:04,440 --> 00:21:07,680 for the sake of this metaphor, let's say that I was setting out 395 00:21:07,680 --> 00:21:11,240 to hike the Appalachian Trail. This would never happen in real 396 00:21:11,240 --> 00:21:13,560 life. So already as we start this 397 00:21:13,560 --> 00:21:16,200 journey, like my anxiety level would be real high because like, 398 00:21:16,200 --> 00:21:17,760 this is a way of a physical level. 399 00:21:17,760 --> 00:21:20,280 Not even close. But my first temptation if this 400 00:21:20,280 --> 00:21:22,920 was like something I needed to do would be to like, 401 00:21:22,920 --> 00:21:26,160 aggressively research the trail. Like, I would want like a highly 402 00:21:26,160 --> 00:21:28,440 detailed map. I would want to mark like how 403 00:21:28,440 --> 00:21:31,200 far I'm walking each day, where I'd stop, where I'd replenish 404 00:21:31,200 --> 00:21:32,920 supplies. Like I'd want to like, sketch 405 00:21:32,920 --> 00:21:36,360 out plans for navigating potential obstacles like rivers 406 00:21:36,360 --> 00:21:38,480 or like super rocky places. I don't even know what kind of 407 00:21:38,480 --> 00:21:40,880 obstacles there are. I'm not a hiker, but I would 408 00:21:40,880 --> 00:21:42,840 still want to be like prepared for all of them. 409 00:21:42,840 --> 00:21:47,960 Right now, this is kind of a stress driven strategy, but it 410 00:21:47,960 --> 00:21:49,840 might actually succeed at keeping me alive. 411 00:21:50,880 --> 00:21:55,320 But there is a second option available, and that is to go 412 00:21:55,480 --> 00:21:59,280 with a guide to find, like, the premier Sherpa of the 413 00:21:59,280 --> 00:22:01,640 Appalachian Trail and to just follow them. 414 00:22:02,640 --> 00:22:05,280 There would still be like, you know, planning and preparing on 415 00:22:05,280 --> 00:22:07,880 my end. And I think from what I know 416 00:22:07,880 --> 00:22:09,880 about the Appalachian Trail, it would probably be a fairly 417 00:22:09,880 --> 00:22:11,600 grueling experience no matter what I did. 418 00:22:12,040 --> 00:22:15,760 But instead of relying on my own cleverness and thoroughness to 419 00:22:15,760 --> 00:22:18,600 get me through the journey, I'd be relying on someone who 420 00:22:18,600 --> 00:22:24,240 already knows the way in life. I think a lot of us prefer the 421 00:22:24,240 --> 00:22:26,840 first approach. At least we want to be the 1:00 422 00:22:26,840 --> 00:22:30,040 calling the shots, right? We want to craft the plans and 423 00:22:30,040 --> 00:22:32,400 solve the problems because we kind of think that like the more 424 00:22:32,400 --> 00:22:35,000 involved we are, the more secure we'll feel. 425 00:22:35,720 --> 00:22:39,000 But when it comes to the spiritual life, our best efforts 426 00:22:39,000 --> 00:22:42,480 will still come up short. Like even if I'm committed to 427 00:22:42,480 --> 00:22:45,240 living a moral life and overcoming patterns of sin and 428 00:22:45,240 --> 00:22:48,880 cultivating a relationship with God, I am not capable of finding 429 00:22:48,880 --> 00:22:51,160 the way on my own, especially to eternal life. 430 00:22:51,840 --> 00:22:53,960 Even if I tried, and I did try in college, that was like my 431 00:22:53,960 --> 00:22:54,760 whole story. I tried. 432 00:22:55,800 --> 00:22:59,120 Like you might be able to get the journey started, but before 433 00:22:59,120 --> 00:23:02,160 long you would just be completely lost and overwhelmed. 434 00:23:02,480 --> 00:23:04,720 Because trying to maintain control ultimately gets us 435 00:23:04,720 --> 00:23:07,000 nowhere. But control has a very 436 00:23:07,000 --> 00:23:09,840 attractive sales pitch. You get to be your own Sherpa 437 00:23:10,200 --> 00:23:12,920 and answer to no one. But the reality that that won't 438 00:23:12,920 --> 00:23:16,200 tell you is that navigating the spiritual life alone is lonely 439 00:23:16,640 --> 00:23:20,240 and scary and anxiety inducing and it's honestly not worth the 440 00:23:20,240 --> 00:23:22,600 cost. But again, there is a second 441 00:23:22,600 --> 00:23:27,720 option, to follow Jesus, to actually know him, to learn from 442 00:23:27,720 --> 00:23:30,400 him, to live in his ways. And yes, that means that you 443 00:23:30,840 --> 00:23:33,000 don't get to go wherever you want, whenever you want. 444 00:23:33,320 --> 00:23:36,040 It may feel like a loss of control, especially when you 445 00:23:36,040 --> 00:23:38,400 really want a map and Jesus like won't give you one. 446 00:23:40,240 --> 00:23:43,160 But you don't have to walk the path alone with Jesus, like not 447 00:23:43,160 --> 00:23:45,520 even for a minute. You don't need a map or a 448 00:23:45,520 --> 00:23:48,000 philosophy degree so you can solve the problem of sin or fix 449 00:23:48,000 --> 00:23:51,360 the world or justify yourself. You just need to keep following 450 00:23:51,520 --> 00:23:56,080 Jesus because he knows the way. Let Jesus lead the way. 451 00:23:57,440 --> 00:24:02,520 Lastly, the book of Hebrews invites us to leave our fears 452 00:24:02,600 --> 00:24:06,160 nailed to the cross. So at the end of Hebrews chapter 453 00:24:06,160 --> 00:24:11,440 2, the author says that Jesus became human so that by his 454 00:24:11,440 --> 00:24:14,960 death he might break the power of him who holds the power of 455 00:24:14,960 --> 00:24:19,280 death, that is the devil, and to free those who all their lives 456 00:24:19,680 --> 00:24:22,760 were held in slavery by their fear of death. 457 00:24:24,240 --> 00:24:25,840 Y'all this verse like wrecked me. 458 00:24:26,560 --> 00:24:28,560 I like read it as if I had never read it before. 459 00:24:28,560 --> 00:24:30,480 I like know that I've read it before because I had to read the 460 00:24:30,480 --> 00:24:31,720 whole Bible when I was in seminary. 461 00:24:31,720 --> 00:24:34,080 I know I've read it and I was like, what is the saying? 462 00:24:34,080 --> 00:24:37,760 This is wild, but it's like describing us as humanity as 463 00:24:37,760 --> 00:24:40,960 being held in slavery to the fear of death. 464 00:24:41,520 --> 00:24:46,440 Like what does that mean? So in the Bible, slavery can be 465 00:24:46,440 --> 00:24:49,120 literal, but it also it's often another way of talking about 466 00:24:49,120 --> 00:24:51,880 idolatry, like it's being captive to something, like 467 00:24:51,960 --> 00:24:54,840 serving something that like takes from you until it believes 468 00:24:54,840 --> 00:24:57,840 you dry. So, you know, when we think 469 00:24:57,840 --> 00:25:00,320 about fear of death, I don't think that this is necessarily 470 00:25:00,320 --> 00:25:04,120 limited to like consciously worrying about your mortality. 471 00:25:05,040 --> 00:25:08,120 I think it actually includes the type of behavior that comes out 472 00:25:08,400 --> 00:25:13,000 when we believe that light, this life is all there is fear of. 473 00:25:13,000 --> 00:25:16,840 So in that case, fear of death might produce things like a 474 00:25:16,880 --> 00:25:22,000 scarcity mentality, this feeling that time is running out and 475 00:25:22,000 --> 00:25:24,680 anxiety that the change that you long for will never come. 476 00:25:25,760 --> 00:25:29,080 A sense of urgency that like any goodness or pleasure has to be 477 00:25:29,080 --> 00:25:33,200 found in this lifetime. Or a tendency to run from pain 478 00:25:33,640 --> 00:25:35,880 as if you just might get trapped in it forever. 479 00:25:37,680 --> 00:25:40,200 I don't know about you, but when I think about those fears that 480 00:25:40,200 --> 00:25:42,400 way, like that feels much more familiar to me. 481 00:25:42,400 --> 00:25:45,040 I'm not often consciously thinking again about my 482 00:25:45,040 --> 00:25:50,040 mortality, but I'm I do have a subconscious fear that I'm 483 00:25:50,040 --> 00:25:53,920 running out of time, that my life will never become what I 484 00:25:53,920 --> 00:25:57,480 hoped it would be, that I'll get stuck in a reality that I don't 485 00:25:57,480 --> 00:25:59,800 want to be in. I don't know how many of you 486 00:25:59,800 --> 00:26:02,080 relate to this. If if not, just going to keep. 487 00:26:02,080 --> 00:26:03,960 I'm just going to bring you into the world of my fears. 488 00:26:05,360 --> 00:26:07,600 My fears. They often feel more like 489 00:26:07,600 --> 00:26:11,560 questions that run on autoplay in the back of my mind. 490 00:26:11,920 --> 00:26:16,400 Saying things like what if I have to watch everyone that I'm 491 00:26:16,400 --> 00:26:20,120 close to get married and have a family, but it never happens for 492 00:26:20,120 --> 00:26:23,800 me? What if I invest all of my 493 00:26:23,800 --> 00:26:27,000 energy into building a community that's strong and a ministry 494 00:26:27,000 --> 00:26:32,640 that matters and it fails? What if my pain from my past 495 00:26:32,640 --> 00:26:35,760 wounds never gets better? Like what if trying to address 496 00:26:35,760 --> 00:26:37,920 it just completely overwhelms me? 497 00:26:39,200 --> 00:26:41,280 I'm not support. I'm not 100% sure if you're 498 00:26:41,280 --> 00:26:43,200 supposed to confess your fears in a sermon, to be honest. 499 00:26:43,200 --> 00:26:45,200 But here we are. Because this is reality. 500 00:26:45,960 --> 00:26:48,520 Like the Bible wants to speak to our reality, like what it 501 00:26:48,520 --> 00:26:51,040 actually is like for us as humans to live in this world. 502 00:26:51,280 --> 00:26:54,920 And so if it's saying that Jesus has annihilated our fear of 503 00:26:54,920 --> 00:26:56,840 death, this is what he's talking about. 504 00:26:56,840 --> 00:26:59,080 This battle that many of us are fighting internally. 505 00:26:59,080 --> 00:27:01,080 This is what he's come to overcome. 506 00:27:02,040 --> 00:27:03,880 And the thing about those fears, though, is I feel like they're 507 00:27:03,880 --> 00:27:07,160 rooted in these desires. And those desires aren't 508 00:27:07,160 --> 00:27:09,320 necessarily bad. That's confusing, right? 509 00:27:09,320 --> 00:27:11,240 Like we want to get rid of the fear, but like the desires 510 00:27:11,240 --> 00:27:13,920 aren't necessarily bad. Like often times they're very 511 00:27:13,920 --> 00:27:15,560 human. Like there's a desire to be 512 00:27:15,560 --> 00:27:19,520 loved, to have a purpose, to have stability or inner peace, 513 00:27:19,520 --> 00:27:20,920 to have somewhere that you belong. 514 00:27:20,920 --> 00:27:25,400 But I don't think desire by itself is necessarily the 515 00:27:25,400 --> 00:27:28,840 problem. I think our desperation is the 516 00:27:28,840 --> 00:27:30,800 problem. It's when we begin to kind of 517 00:27:30,800 --> 00:27:33,560 listen to this voice in the back of our heads, the voice of fear. 518 00:27:34,120 --> 00:27:37,280 And it kind of changes the way that we relate to our desires. 519 00:27:37,280 --> 00:27:39,440 Where we kind of start saying things that like we need 520 00:27:39,440 --> 00:27:42,240 something to happen to be OK. Like we're driven to fixate on 521 00:27:42,240 --> 00:27:44,200 something 'cause we need this to be OK. 522 00:27:44,200 --> 00:27:45,880 We won't be OK unless we have this. 523 00:27:46,160 --> 00:27:49,520 Like we become desperate for a job or a vocation where we feel 524 00:27:49,520 --> 00:27:52,080 important. We become kind of desperate for 525 00:27:52,080 --> 00:27:54,240 a relationship where we finally feel accepted. 526 00:27:54,600 --> 00:27:57,520 We feel desperate for a home to call our own for like the 527 00:27:57,520 --> 00:27:59,480 stability that has always felt out of reach. 528 00:28:00,080 --> 00:28:03,240 And it's like very subtle in the back of our mind, this kind of 529 00:28:03,240 --> 00:28:06,200 desperation that can build up. But when we're desperate, we 530 00:28:06,200 --> 00:28:10,480 become dangerous to ourselves and to others because our hearts 531 00:28:10,480 --> 00:28:14,800 start manufacturing idols. When we feel like this life is 532 00:28:14,800 --> 00:28:17,720 all there is, we try to like, force it to bend to our will no 533 00:28:17,720 --> 00:28:19,600 matter what. We have to sacrifice because 534 00:28:19,600 --> 00:28:22,480 that's what an idol demands. Like everything we have to give. 535 00:28:23,400 --> 00:28:26,720 So that subconscious fear of death that that that sense of 536 00:28:26,720 --> 00:28:30,280 urgency, it like pushes us to take our destiny into our own 537 00:28:30,280 --> 00:28:32,720 hands. But church, we have to resist 538 00:28:32,720 --> 00:28:35,480 it. We have to bring our desperation 539 00:28:35,800 --> 00:28:38,360 to Jesus. That is the only way forward 540 00:28:38,360 --> 00:28:42,280 because everything that Jesus touches becomes better. 541 00:28:43,080 --> 00:28:45,800 There's a story in the gospels. I love it. 542 00:28:45,800 --> 00:28:47,720 I feel like I think about this like an inordinate amount of the 543 00:28:47,720 --> 00:28:49,360 time. Jesus is like walking through a 544 00:28:49,360 --> 00:28:52,400 crowd and there's this woman who's been afflicted with a 545 00:28:52,400 --> 00:28:54,920 blood disease for 12 years. So she's been suffering, she has 546 00:28:54,920 --> 00:28:56,680 been outcast. She is like at the end of her 547 00:28:56,680 --> 00:29:00,520 rope to fix this problem. And she knows that if she can 548 00:29:00,520 --> 00:29:02,560 just touch out, she she knows who knows who told her. 549 00:29:02,560 --> 00:29:04,920 She just has this like instinct, this feeling, this faith, this 550 00:29:04,920 --> 00:29:08,440 belief that if she can just touch the edge of Jesus garment, 551 00:29:08,920 --> 00:29:11,440 she will be healed. And she is. 552 00:29:12,920 --> 00:29:16,640 It's like renewal is unavoidable in Jesus presence, like all she 553 00:29:16,640 --> 00:29:21,800 does is reach for him and she is healed because Jesus is the only 554 00:29:21,800 --> 00:29:27,000 one who fearful and desperate people can turn to for new life 555 00:29:27,160 --> 00:29:29,360 and for New Hope. And it actually happens. 556 00:29:30,960 --> 00:29:36,160 But learning to bring your deepest fears and desires to 557 00:29:36,240 --> 00:29:40,040 Jesus is often a process for us. Like it's hard for some reason, 558 00:29:40,040 --> 00:29:41,920 like we resist it. We, we, we struggle to get 559 00:29:41,920 --> 00:29:43,880 there. Like I know that it definitely 560 00:29:43,880 --> 00:29:45,680 has been for me. Like, you know, my fears and my 561 00:29:45,680 --> 00:29:47,560 desires. Sometimes my, my strategy is 562 00:29:47,560 --> 00:29:50,800 like to suppress them instead, just in case anyone is 1 is like 563 00:29:50,800 --> 00:29:53,360 considering giving that a shot. It doesn't work. 564 00:29:53,360 --> 00:29:55,600 I can just save you some time. Like not a good strategy. 565 00:29:57,480 --> 00:30:00,360 The only thing that really helps is being honest before guide 566 00:30:00,720 --> 00:30:05,600 coming to him admitting, for example, that it is painful to 567 00:30:05,600 --> 00:30:07,560 want a family of your own and to not have one. 568 00:30:08,200 --> 00:30:10,360 Like I don't think we need to edit that or diminish it or 569 00:30:10,360 --> 00:30:11,720 change it. It's just hard. 570 00:30:12,600 --> 00:30:15,960 But it's when the voice of fear tries to convince us you're 571 00:30:15,960 --> 00:30:18,040 going to get trapped. You're going to be left alone. 572 00:30:18,040 --> 00:30:20,800 You're going to have to carry the weight of disappointment for 573 00:30:20,800 --> 00:30:24,160 the rest of your life. Like these are the lies that 574 00:30:24,160 --> 00:30:26,920 fear wants us to believe because fear of death is very all or 575 00:30:26,920 --> 00:30:28,480 nothing. There's no nuance. 576 00:30:28,600 --> 00:30:30,720 It's very final. There's no room for Jesus to 577 00:30:30,720 --> 00:30:32,880 come and intervene. There's no room you don't even 578 00:30:32,880 --> 00:30:34,920 want to reach for the edge of his robe because you're afraid 579 00:30:34,920 --> 00:30:37,840 of being disappointed. It's this lie that like whatever 580 00:30:37,840 --> 00:30:40,080 struggle you're facing now is going to overcome you because 581 00:30:40,080 --> 00:30:43,080 this is all there is. That's such a lie. 582 00:30:43,440 --> 00:30:45,240 This is not even close to all there is. 583 00:30:45,560 --> 00:30:50,360 Jesus's big thing is securing eternal life for us that is so 584 00:30:50,360 --> 00:30:52,760 much bigger than the struggles that we're facing now. 585 00:30:52,760 --> 00:30:56,240 That is why we watch people in the Bible do these insane, 586 00:30:56,240 --> 00:30:59,440 extraordinary, courageous things because they have hope not only 587 00:30:59,440 --> 00:31:01,800 that Jesus can meet them in this life, but that He will be there 588 00:31:01,800 --> 00:31:04,840 in the life to come and that we will be with Him in the life to 589 00:31:04,840 --> 00:31:07,760 come. But like these fear, these lies 590 00:31:07,760 --> 00:31:10,640 they enter and it's so subtle. That's the thing that's so 591 00:31:10,640 --> 00:31:12,520 subtle, the way it kind of whispers to you and you don't 592 00:31:12,520 --> 00:31:15,880 really notice it at 1st. And I remember like thinking 593 00:31:15,880 --> 00:31:18,640 about some of these fears when that felt like an obstacle 594 00:31:18,640 --> 00:31:21,200 between me and God, like a a very recent season where it felt 595 00:31:21,200 --> 00:31:24,160 like a wall between me and God. And I was like kind of pray 596 00:31:24,440 --> 00:31:27,120 about these fears. But The thing is, I like wasn't 597 00:31:27,120 --> 00:31:30,680 really bringing the fear to God. And the reason I realized is 598 00:31:30,680 --> 00:31:34,040 because I had this like, projection of the future where 599 00:31:34,280 --> 00:31:37,800 the disappointment I would feel if like I brought this to God 600 00:31:37,800 --> 00:31:40,600 and it felt like he never answered, would be so much worse 601 00:31:40,600 --> 00:31:42,520 than if I just tried to deal with the fear on my own. 602 00:31:43,040 --> 00:31:46,320 And so I held back until the Holy Spirit kind of broke me 603 00:31:46,320 --> 00:31:48,560 down because I did pray. And that's the thing about it. 604 00:31:48,560 --> 00:31:50,440 It's like at some point he's kind of like chiseled chink, 605 00:31:50,480 --> 00:31:52,000 chink, chink. And you're like, I have to come 606 00:31:52,040 --> 00:31:52,640 to you. I'm desperate. 607 00:31:52,640 --> 00:31:55,400 I need help. And I just began like wrestling 608 00:31:55,400 --> 00:31:57,960 with him about these things and just talking to him more 609 00:31:57,960 --> 00:32:00,360 honestly about my fears and being willing to just be like, 610 00:32:00,360 --> 00:32:01,760 this is like, I'm putting it all on the table. 611 00:32:01,760 --> 00:32:04,480 This is all or nothing. I'm all in like what, like I, I 612 00:32:04,520 --> 00:32:06,640 need you. What, what, what, what do we do? 613 00:32:06,640 --> 00:32:08,160 Jesus, Like what, what's the next step? 614 00:32:09,000 --> 00:32:13,960 And for me, when I began talking to Jesus about my fears, when I 615 00:32:13,960 --> 00:32:18,280 began naming them, when I began letting him speak into them and 616 00:32:18,280 --> 00:32:21,320 challenging me and just like pour these things out, I became 617 00:32:21,320 --> 00:32:25,400 so much more aware of what he's doing in my life right now. 618 00:32:25,760 --> 00:32:27,800 Because that's the kind of veil that comes over you when you 619 00:32:27,800 --> 00:32:30,920 believe the voice of fear is you're fixated on honestly, 620 00:32:30,960 --> 00:32:34,440 oftentimes A fictional future, like a tragedy that hasn't 621 00:32:34,440 --> 00:32:36,520 happened yet or a tragedy that happened in the past where you 622 00:32:36,520 --> 00:32:38,080 don't believe that Jesus can redeem that. 623 00:32:38,760 --> 00:32:41,680 But when you let him speak into I feel like I started to know it 624 00:32:41,680 --> 00:32:44,000 was like it was like I was seeing things that were right in 625 00:32:44,000 --> 00:32:46,520 front of me that I hadn't seen before, like ways that he is 626 00:32:46,520 --> 00:32:50,120 like actively moving in my life today, for instance, you know, I 627 00:32:50,120 --> 00:32:53,760 named the season of singleness is hard for me, right? 628 00:32:53,920 --> 00:32:56,320 And it's easy to be like fixated on that in different moments in 629 00:32:56,320 --> 00:32:58,720 time. But one of the things that I 630 00:32:58,720 --> 00:33:02,040 forget that I feel like God really reminded me of is that in 631 00:33:02,040 --> 00:33:07,000 this season, I have been deeply blessed by the friendship of 632 00:33:07,000 --> 00:33:10,640 some extraordinary women where the season that we get to walk 633 00:33:10,640 --> 00:33:13,640 through together is hard, but it's really beautiful. 634 00:33:14,760 --> 00:33:16,800 And I don't think I would want to exchange that for something 635 00:33:16,800 --> 00:33:18,960 different because I see Jesus in it. 636 00:33:19,320 --> 00:33:21,760 And no matter what it is he gives you, no matter what your 637 00:33:21,760 --> 00:33:23,440 heart still longs for, no matter what prayers you're still 638 00:33:23,440 --> 00:33:28,240 praying, when you see him in something, there's this comfort 639 00:33:28,240 --> 00:33:30,280 that comes where you're like, he's with me. 640 00:33:30,840 --> 00:33:35,240 I know he's with me, He's with me and you know, there are 641 00:33:35,240 --> 00:33:37,160 things like that that were very, they were very sweet. 642 00:33:37,200 --> 00:33:39,600 You know, you see them and you notice them and, and it kind of 643 00:33:39,600 --> 00:33:41,200 gives you this like comfort and relief. 644 00:33:41,360 --> 00:33:43,920 There are other things that I like realize that he's doing in 645 00:33:43,920 --> 00:33:45,880 my life right now. One of them is that he's kind of 646 00:33:45,880 --> 00:33:49,000 created this time, this protected space for me to really 647 00:33:49,000 --> 00:33:52,120 dive into some really painful things in my past and like work 648 00:33:52,120 --> 00:33:54,680 through them. And that is not fun. 649 00:33:56,240 --> 00:33:58,800 But I recognize that that is also a gift. 650 00:34:00,280 --> 00:34:01,680 And one day it will feel that way. 651 00:34:02,760 --> 00:34:06,720 One day I will see all the hidden ways that God has 652 00:34:06,720 --> 00:34:09,560 answered my prayers daily to actually bring about the 653 00:34:09,560 --> 00:34:12,880 greatest good and redeem my deepest pain, both on my behalf 654 00:34:12,880 --> 00:34:18,560 and for others. And one day you will see all the 655 00:34:18,560 --> 00:34:21,960 hidden ways that God is answering your prayers and that 656 00:34:21,960 --> 00:34:25,679 there is no pain, No Fear, no longing that He is not aware of 657 00:34:25,679 --> 00:34:30,040 and that He doesn't care so deeply about friends. 658 00:34:30,080 --> 00:34:34,480 Fear thrives in the darkness, but once we bring it into the 659 00:34:34,480 --> 00:34:37,840 light, it loses its power. And not just any light, the 660 00:34:37,840 --> 00:34:40,120 light of Jesus. This light of Jesus that 661 00:34:40,120 --> 00:34:46,040 promises you that his nearness, he is near to you now and He 662 00:34:46,040 --> 00:34:49,040 will be working out redemption of everything that has hurt you 663 00:34:49,360 --> 00:34:52,080 for all of eternity. What an incredible promise. 664 00:34:52,440 --> 00:34:55,199 In His light, fears are exposed for what they are. 665 00:34:55,360 --> 00:34:59,200 They're frail, they're fragile, like they feed on limitations 666 00:34:59,200 --> 00:35:02,880 and exaggerations and this lie that Jesus cannot overcome your 667 00:35:02,880 --> 00:35:06,720 fears. Jesus can overcome anything, and 668 00:35:06,720 --> 00:35:09,440 he has. So I don't know what story 669 00:35:09,440 --> 00:35:13,520 you're believing today that is rooted in fear, but I know that 670 00:35:13,560 --> 00:35:20,000 Jesus wants to rewrite it. Bring your desires and your 671 00:35:20,000 --> 00:35:24,000 desperation to Jesus. Let him remove the sting from 672 00:35:24,000 --> 00:35:26,800 those things. Don't listen to your fears or 673 00:35:26,800 --> 00:35:29,680 give them strength, or let them stay in the darkness. 674 00:35:30,400 --> 00:35:32,760 Leave them in the hands of Jesus, nailed to the cross where 675 00:35:32,760 --> 00:35:36,840 they belong. Jesus shared in our humanities 676 00:35:36,840 --> 00:35:40,840 so that by his death he might break the power of death and 677 00:35:40,840 --> 00:35:43,480 free us. No one else can promise you 678 00:35:43,480 --> 00:35:47,600 that. No job, no life purpose, no life 679 00:35:47,600 --> 00:35:51,480 partner, no wealth, no comfort. Nothing in this world can give 680 00:35:51,480 --> 00:35:55,280 that to you. But Jesus, He is our hope, and 681 00:35:55,280 --> 00:35:58,560 because of Jesus fear of death and all these other fears that 682 00:35:58,560 --> 00:36:01,800 it breeds, they have been nailed to the cross. 683 00:36:01,960 --> 00:36:05,640 So leave them there. Walk in freedom. 684 00:36:06,400 --> 00:36:10,080 You can entrust your present circumstances and your future to 685 00:36:10,080 --> 00:36:14,440 the God who is willing to become flesh, to endure suffering, and 686 00:36:14,440 --> 00:36:18,600 even to die to bring us fullness of life. 687 00:36:18,920 --> 00:36:20,480 Amen. Amen. 688 00:36:22,440 --> 00:36:27,320 In closing So a few weeks back I babysat my friend's kids. 689 00:36:28,040 --> 00:36:31,640 They're they're adorable. Her son is 11 months old and her 690 00:36:31,640 --> 00:36:34,120 daughter is 3. She's the spitting image of my 691 00:36:34,120 --> 00:36:35,080 friend. I don't think she stopped 692 00:36:35,080 --> 00:36:36,480 talking the entire time I was there. 693 00:36:36,680 --> 00:36:39,160 She's so cute. But her three-year old 694 00:36:39,160 --> 00:36:43,600 apparently likes to sing her favorite hymn before bedtime. 695 00:36:43,800 --> 00:36:48,480 And I was like, who is this kid? So before I put her to bed, we 696 00:36:48,480 --> 00:36:52,160 sang together the song Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus. 697 00:36:52,480 --> 00:36:53,920 It's an old hymn. If you don't know it, it's 698 00:36:53,920 --> 00:36:56,120 beautiful. But if there was one worship 699 00:36:56,120 --> 00:36:59,480 song that summarized the message of Hebrews one and two, this 700 00:36:59,480 --> 00:37:03,400 might be it. So to close, I would like to 701 00:37:03,400 --> 00:37:05,800 read it to you since I'm not much of a singer. 702 00:37:05,800 --> 00:37:09,520 You'll experience more talent in that area in just a minute, but 703 00:37:09,520 --> 00:37:12,440 I'm going to read it to you. I'll read the the three kind of 704 00:37:12,440 --> 00:37:15,200 different verses 1st and then we'll end with the refrain. 705 00:37:16,840 --> 00:37:19,280 So this is Turn your Eyes upon Jesus. 706 00:37:21,960 --> 00:37:25,400 O soul, are you weary and troubled? 707 00:37:26,880 --> 00:37:28,720 No light in the darkness you see. 708 00:37:30,040 --> 00:37:32,680 There's light for a look at the Savior. 709 00:37:33,640 --> 00:37:38,520 And life more abundant and free through death into life 710 00:37:38,520 --> 00:37:44,440 everlasting He passed, and we follow Him there over us. 711 00:37:44,440 --> 00:37:49,240 Sin no more has dominion for more than conquerors We are. 712 00:37:50,840 --> 00:37:53,880 His word shall not fail you, He promised. 713 00:37:54,760 --> 00:37:57,120 Believe Him, and all will be well. 714 00:37:58,000 --> 00:38:02,240 Then go to a world that is dying, His perfect salvation to 715 00:38:02,240 --> 00:38:08,960 tell. Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look 716 00:38:08,960 --> 00:38:14,720 full in His wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow 717 00:38:14,720 --> 00:38:19,760 strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace.